


Skyward

by Fabro-de-omres (Fabroishippingtrash), Fabroishippingtrash



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Gen, Yikes, dragons au, oh gosh if you like this story go to ffn.net, tfw u forget u uploaded one (1) chapter here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-06
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2018-09-22 10:50:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9604733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fabroishippingtrash/pseuds/Fabro-de-omres, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fabroishippingtrash/pseuds/Fabroishippingtrash
Summary: Imagine a Ninjago where dragons have been extinct for centuries. Slaying a dragon was the ultimate form of prestige in the old days, and the people who managed to do so were treated with the utmost respect and honor.So no one expects the scaly beasts to reappear, especially not four certain teens. This new development throws them into a world of secrets and lies, where one wrong step could mean their death."You must protect the people," Sensei says. But why should they, if it means they will be hunted down?For that's what will happen if they spinjitzu. The ninja become the dragons.





	1. You Could Fly Anywhere

**Author's Note:**

> Ah yes, that fic that constantly changed titles. (Originally Elements: Just Use Spinjitzu, Serpens Conspicio, then Dracones Elementorum.) I just realized that I never posted it here! 
> 
> This is a fic that I've been working on for a while. The original idea came from the H2O series, hence the first title. *cringes* I've been writing this since 2014, and it's going through a slight revision right now- the plot isn't changing, I'm just changing it to reflect my current style of writing.
> 
> You'll notice some obvious changes from canon in this story. Firstly, the Master Wu dragon does not exist. Neither do any of the NRG dragons. 
> 
> There's huge timeline changes, map tweaking (seriously, ninjago changes its maps EVERY SINGLE BOOK), and probably angst. 
> 
> If you managed to make it through this note, congratulations!

"Over the planks, dodge the swords, here comes the dummy!" As Jay ran towards the last skeleton, the energy building beneath his skin became suddenly unbearable. He couldn’t ignore it any longer, it demanded release. So when his feet left the ground and carried him into a spin, Jay didn’t resist. He let his body and instincts take control.

Lightning. It started near his feet, swallowing up his body in a hazy mist of blue. _What- what’s happening?_ Even as the question formed on his lips, he already knew. _I’m doing spinjitzu!_

A skeleton popped into view, and he instinctively directed his spinjitzu tornado at it. _This is so cool! And Cole said he’d be the first… ha!_

"Jay! How did you do it?”

Aaand yep, there was that new kid, impulsive and demanding as always. Jay bowled into a third skeleton, attacking with his nun-chucks. He considered not answering, but he knew that his teammates didn’t need to lose out on account of the hot-head. And if Kai was going to be the fourth member of their team… well, he’d need to know too.

"I'm just going through the motions!" _Wait, how do I stop this thing?_ He spun to a halt, immediately noticing the lack of extra energy. “Remember? The training course?”

"Hmm, over the planks... Dodge the swords... Here comes the dummy!" Kai repeated. He too went through the familiar motions of the obstacle course, a tad bit unsure, but gaining confidence. 

Jay couldn’t help but grin as the red ninja was enveloped in a fiery spinjitzu twister. “Just like that!” He tried to spinjitzu again, this time without the running start. It was a tad more difficult, but he found if he twisted his upper body, the rest of the motions flowed easily.

With spinjitzu on their side, the cavern was emptied in no time. Jay chased the last skeleton out, spinning to a stop. _That was so awesome!_ He bounced from foot to foot, still high on adrenaline.

“Jay, get over here!” 

Cole beckoned to him from across the cave. He was standing beside the blocked entrance, and Jay remembered why they were even in the caves to begin with. _The Scythe of Quakes!_ He dashed over, taking his place beside Kai. As one, the four ninja pushed. The stone moved. The caves trembled. Dust settled. And there it was, bathed in a soft glow: the first Golden Weapon.

Cole scrambled up the stack of rocks and boulders, prying the scythe from the top. He wrapped it in burlap, tossing it down to Zane. He slid down the pile, reclaiming his weapon. “Hey, didn’t Sensei Wu say there was a guardian or something?”

Jay thought back to his conversations with the Sensei. “Actually, yeah, he did.”

“That’s what he told me,” Kai chimed in.

“As well as me.”

"Well where is he?" Cole scanned the area carefully, as if he was expecting a masked man with a sword to pop from the ground. It was making Jay anxious, to be honest. 

“Would you stop that?’ he asked. “The guardian-person must have died a long time ago, considering how old Sensei is.”

“He’s right," Kai agreed. "Nobody’s been here for a long time. And I don't have time to sit around, waiting for some fictional guardian."

"We know," Jay deadpanned, Cole echoing him. "Your sister."

Kai rolled his eyes. "Let's get going."

The group left the cave, not knowing their greatest power would become their greatest weakness.

 

Kai grunted, shifting his balance to keep from falling. “Can you reach them?”

“I believe so.” Zane leapt up p, snatched the shurikens, and instantly froze into a solid block.

Kai staggered under the sudden weight, nearly dropping the white ninja. Together, with the help of Cole and Jay, he lowered it to the ground.

“What do we do now?” Jay asked. He probed the block with his foot. “It's not like he's gonna thaw anytime soon.”

“Uh, duh, fire spinjitzu?” Kai rubbed his hands together. “I'll have him out in no time.”

“Not in here!” Cole hissed. “Think about it, Kai. The entire temple is made of ice!”

“A little spinjitzu wouldn't hurt it, either!” Kai argued, but the black ninja cut him off.

“Let’s get him back to the ship.” he told them. “Then you can use your spinjitzu. Jay, you're with Kai. Take the sides near the back; I'll lead. On three!”

Kai hefted the ice onto his shoulder, finding it easier than he'd anticipated. He followed Cole’s lead -and when did that first start?- and together, they set off. They'd almost made the entrance of the temple, and Kai’s back was aching, when frenzied laughter erupted from behind them.

“Skeletons!” Jay cried. “Kai, take over!” He dropped his side of the block, and Kai scrambled to correct the balance. 

“Keep moving, Cole!” 

The two ninja hauled their teammate down the icy stairs, away from the temple. Cole looked back, gauging the distance. “I think it should be fine now,” he decided. 

Kai took a step back, launching into a spinjitzu tornado. The signature reds and oranges of fire spinjitzu flashed as he wore away at the ice block. It was too hard to look down and keep focus, so he watched Cole’s face. When his concentrated look melted away to concern, Kai backed off and spun to a stop. 

“Zane, are you okay?” Jay appeared beside him, making Kai’s heart jump. He'd thought he was a good ninja, but these three put him to shame! Well, at least in the sneaking part. Surely he was much better at fighting.

“He needs to get warmed up, now!” Cole’s command woke Kai from his tangent. The other two were bracing the ice ninja on either side, and Kai realized the earth ninja was addressing him. 

“I'll go have Sensei Wu start a fire!”

 

“Zane, can you get them with your shurikens?” 

Cole stood off to the side, careful not to touch the walls. They were in the Floating Ruins, and he'd already seen what the crackling buildings had done to the skeletons. Electricity was everywhere, making his clothes and hair staticky, and he kept shocking himself on his own scythe. 

The ice ninja threw, dislodging the nun-chucks from their hook on the wall. Jay caught the glowing weapon in his right hand... and threw in a backflip that almost electrocuted him. Cole facepalmed.

"Jay!" When the lightning ninja looked over to him innocently, Cole continued. "Don't get yourself killed!"

“Hey, relax! I had it all under control!”

Cole doubted that, but he knew arguing with Jay would get him nowhere. Instead, he turned to Zane. “Can you see Kai?”

“He's running to us now,” the white ninja reported. “I sense that he bears bad news.”

"Guys!" Kai appeared in the doorway, out of breath. "The skeletons are climbing the chain!"

“They are?” Jay shrieked. “And they must be close, if you can see them! How the heck will we get down now?”

The lightning ninja launched into one of his complaints, so Cole tuned him out. Jay had a point though, how would they get out of the city? _Running, not an option, climbing down, unlikely, flying-_ A thought popped into his head. _Jay! Didn't he say he met Sensei Wu while testing out an invention for flight?_

“Jay, can you create something to let us fly out of here?"

“Like my storm gliders!”

Cole had no idea what those were, but he nodded anyways. “Yeah, like that. Can you?”

“Ha, of course I can! Just give me a couple of minutes.”

Jay got to work, tying ropes and connecting pieces of wood and cloth to create frames. He fastened pieces to his teammates' backs. "When you get near the ground, pull this rope to activate the wings!"

"Are you sure this is safe?" Zane, for once, looked uncertain. Cole agreed with him privately. The wobbly frames looked like they could snap in half if a stiff breeze blew in. 

"Of course!" Jay was indignant. "What makes you think they aren't?"

"Oh, just the fact that you crashed into a billboard with them," Kai butted in.

“Well, it's use them or stay up here for the skeletons to get you. Now come on!” 

He ran to the edge of the floating platform and jumped without a hint of hesitance. Cole heard him whooping on the way down. 

“Kai, you go next. I'll follow, and Zane will bring up the lead.”

The fire ninja leaped into action. He tightened his pack and stepped off the platform, yelling. Now it was Cole’s turn. He took a deep breath, felt for his cord, and jumped. 

A feeling of nothingness, then gravity took over and Cole was sent speeding towards the ground. Wind whistled past, and he fought to stay in the position Jay had told them: slightly upright, but with the chest pointed down. The ground loomed up at him, and he jerked at his rope. There was a hissing, unfurling noise, and then the wind caught the cloth and he was carried back up.

Cole let himself breathe, glancing back towards the Ruins. _Three down, one to go._

 

Kai reached for his sword, but his hand only grasped empty air. _I must have left it back at the camp!_

"Tick tock, little ninja," Garmadon taunted. "What's your decision?"

Kai didn't need to think that one through. He sprinted to the edge of the platform, yanked the sword from the rock, and spinjitzued over to Nya. He was halfway to his falling sister when his spinjitzu flew out of control.

It was too hot. Too strong. Kai tried to correct himself, but his motions had become sharp and exaggerated. His foot slammed into a rock, and he tripped and tumbled into the lava.

_What's happening? This never happened before! What's going on?_ Kai waited for searing pain, but it never came. _Am I dead? No, I can't be!_ He floundered in the lava, but his arms weren't responding correctly and his body was numb. _Okay Kai, don't panic. You're not dead._ He wiggled his arms again, and then his legs. Feeling was returning to them, and yet they still weren't moving properly. He needed air. He kicked out, and pushed his way to the surface. 

A high scream tore through the air, making Kai wince. Since when had his hearing been so sensitive? He opened his eyes, quickly finding his sister. Her mouth was open, it looked like she was ready to scream again. 

_Is it my hair? Oh my gosh, am I bald?_ Kai climbed onto the rocks- and froze. _What. Are. Those._ Claws. Shiny, golden claws, anchoring him to the rocks. And attached to those- Kai was going to be sick. Red wings, tipped in gold. He was- he was a-

“Dragon!”


	2. Carry me away from here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welp

_No.  This can't be happening.  Nope. Nope, nope, nope._ Kai stared down at the claws, his breath coming in ragged gasps. _A dragon. I'm a dragon now. Okay then. I can work with this._

"Where is Kai?”  

 Nya’s voice was shrill to Kai’s oversensitive ears.  “What did you do to my brother?” she demanded. “He's not dead- he can't be dead…”

 “Foolish child!”  Garmadon laughed, but it was surprised.  “You saw as well as I that he overestimated himself and fell.  Of course he's dead!” 

Nya’s nostrils flared.  It was her tell that she was blinking back tears.  Kai was moving before he could think. He stepped closer to her, crooning softly. 

“Get away from me!”

“Ah, my brother’s guardian.  Not even you can keep me from the golden weapon!”

Kai whirled to face Garmadon, stumbling over his new claws.  A growl built in his throat. _I hate you! You'll pay for- for everything!_  

The shadow split.  Five figures charged, and Kai’s survival instincts kicked in.  He put his foot on the sword. “Stay back!”

The shadows didn’t listen.  Kai flexed the claws on his wings, finding the action similar to balling his fists.   _Okay, so you think you can take me on? I’m a dragon now!_ He lifted his wing, slashing at a figure.  His movements were clumsy and exaggerated, but that didn’t matter. His claw went right through the shadow.  The same happened with all the others.

The shadows pushed back, attacking together.  One shadow swung at his wing, but instead of passing through, the blow connected.  Another, then another followed. It was too much. Kai’s head already throbbed from sensory overload, and his focus was suffering.  

Kai stumbled back, losing his grip on the sword.  He scrambled to correct his mistake, but it was too late.  Garmadon stooped to pick up the sword, raising it in triumph.  “Finally, all the golden weapons are mine! 

Kai snarled. _That’s my sword!_ He flung himself at Garmadon, slamming into the wall behind him.  His vision blurred; he almost missed the figure to jump down in front of him. 

“Brother!” Garmadon hissed, right as Nya asked, “aren’t you that man who came to our shop?”

Kai pushed himself up on shaky wings.  Indeed, it was the elderly sensei, and he was holding his own remarkably well against the other shadows.   

When the sensei created an eagle using his hands, Kai’s eyes widened. _Of course! I can’t fight a shadow, but my shadow could!_ He calculated a jump, landing in the center of the temple and casting his shadow on the walls.  The copies jumped, fleeing back into the darkness.

Kai couldn’t help but feel accomplished.   _Hey, I’m really getting the hang of this dragon thing!_  His headache had faded into the background, in fact, he barely noticed it anymore.  He cocked his head, sounds spilled into his ears but they weren’t overwhelming like before.  

He glanced back to Sensei Wu, only to find him picking up the sword from the ground.  He stepped over to Nya, cutting through her chains.

“What did he mean by that?” she asked.  “And what’s the importance of these weapons?”  She locked eyes with Kai, and her face paled. “Better yet, what are we gonna do about the dragon?”

“The dragon?”  Sensei Wu looked confused.  “Oh, that dragon! Don’t worry about it.  It’s here to guard the weapon, nothing more.  It won’t harm you.”

Kai bristled.   _It? Really?_ He growled at the teacher, who took a step back.

“Watch yourself, dragon.”  The sensei turned to Nya. “As I was saying, if my brother brings the other weapons here, I must take this one away.”

“Take it away?  But the entrance is blocked!”

Kai looked, and oops, he might have broken part of the wall when he crashed into it.  The cracked slabs of rock had fallen down into a heap. A heap right in front of the doorway.  

“There are other ways out of the Fire Temple.”

A leap surprisingly nimble for a man of his age, and Wu was sitting cross-legged on a slab of stone.  He used the sword to break away from the rocks. Then he pulled out a teapot from the master-knows-where and proceeded to pour himself a cup.  

_Wait, he’s actually doing it!_  Kai ran after the teacher, calling out “Sensei!”, but it was too late.  The rock slab tipped over the edge, and Wu was gone.

* * *

 

Jay jumped to the next branch and caught a peek at the skeletons. _Those no-good boneheads, I'll get my weapon back!_ He leaped to another branch, pausing for a breath.

Cole appeared next to him, black robes melting into the night.  "We need to stop them from getting to the Fire Temple!" he whispered.

“You don’t say!” Jay whispered back.

The earth ninja huffed.  “Just follow my lead.” He dropped down and seized a trailing chain from the main vehicle. The truck slowed considerably, Jay snorted as their curses filled the air.

Zane swung onto a motorcycle, eliminating both the skeletons riding it. Jay leaped to the next branch and waited. When the truck was directly below him, he dropped down.

Jay flattened himself against the hood, taking a moment to admire the design.  Scraping noises of bone against metal, and Jay lashed out with his nun-chucks. The two skeletons fell with a clang, and he jumped to his feet in time to block the next attack.

"Ninja go!"  Jay reached for the energy inside him, the quickest way- he’d found- to access his spinjitzu.  The familiar blues and whites flared up around his feet, swirling into his vision.

But something was off.  His spinjitzu swelled, grew, and he fought to keep it under control.  He failed. The twister seemed to have a mind of its own, and he was not strong nor skilled enough to rein it in.  His body was numb. Everything was too loud, too bright, too strong. He squeezed his eyes shut. _Maybe if I just go with it, it will be over sooner._ With that mentality, Jay stopped fighting. His spinjitzu flashed seconds longer, then it died down.

Jay fell to the ground, groaning.  Everything ached; his muscles felt sore like after a workout.  He struggled to rise, finding two dead-weights on his back. _What?  What are those?_ He craned his neck, wincing as a whole new series of sounds assaulted his ears.   _Wait, are those… wings?_

Forgetting everything else, Jay tripped over to the ditch along the road.  And then he yelped. _Oh no. Oh boy, oh golly, oh gosh. Is that what I think it is?  Am I what I think I am?_

 The water was muddied, but his shadow was clear in the light of the moon.  It was the outline of a dragon.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes. Friends, pls go read this on ffn.net.


	3. Up so high

A sharp cry. Startled, Cole jerked back from the muddy footprints. _What was that?_ He scanned the treeline, yet everything appeared the same: trees broken and splintered, deep tracks imprinted in the dirt.

Beside him, Zane rose to his feet. The ice ninja rolled his shoulders. "That was the creature that created this damage."

"Why do you sound so calm about it?" Cole stood up as well. He'd learned not to question the other's intuitions, his predictions often proved correct.

"I sense that it means us no harm."

Another yelp, followed by a low growl. Cole found it difficult to believe his teammate. "Does that sound like 'no harm' to you?"

Zane shrugged. "Perhaps not." He moved across the trail, away from the wrecked truck, over to the damaged trees. "But we won't know unless we go investigate."

Cole deliberated a moment, nodding. "Alright then. Follow my lead." He skirted along the path, careful not to tread on the tracks.

A loud thud. Cole halted. He waited a few seconds, listening. Another thud, this one closer. Cole dove into the underbrush, motioning for Zane to do the same. Peeking through leaves, he observed a clearing. At first nothing- and then something big and blue fell from the sky and crashed mere meters from Cole. The creature climbed to its feet, and his mouth went dry.

It was a dragon.

It was a dragon!

Cole scrambled back, his heart in his throat. The beast's head snapped towards him. Its golden eyes pierced through the darkness. _Does it see me? Oh gosh, it totally sees me. We're dead!_

But the dragon didn't come any closer. Instead, it moved back and tilted its head.

Zane rose from his crouch, moving towards the animal. "We mean you no harm," he murmured.

"What are you doing?" Cole was at a standstill. Dare he get up and follow his suicidal teammate? "Get back before it eats you!"

The dragon rolled its eyes. Cole started. _Did it just do what I think it did?_ The gesture seemed so… human. Now it was clawing at the ground, scratching- were those letters?- into the dirt. Curiosity won out. Against his better judgment, he crept out of the foliage.

OH MY GOSH GUYS ITS JAY IM A DRAGON

Cole screamed. 

* * *

Jay picked himself off the ground. He stretched out his wings, ignoring the aches shooting through them. _Okay Jay, remember, big flaps. Just do that, and you'll fly._

He pushed off, rising for two wingbeats, before losing control on the third. He crashed back down with a groan.

"The strength of your wings is still not enough to sustain your weight."

Jay rolled his eyes. _Zane, enough with the obvious! Just tell me how to fix it!_

"This is ridiculous. We've been standing here for half an hour! He's a dragon, for crying out loud, he should just be able to fly." Cole's voice trailed off, exasperated.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. You see, These are his arms-" Zane gestured to Jay's front paws, "and these are his legs. His wings, however, use entirely new muscles."

Jay bobbed his head. _Yeah, Cole. Do I have four arms as a human? No. Then why should I be able to do this as a dragon?_

"Well, maybe we should forget about flying for now and just get to the Fire Temple. We still need to find Kai."

Jay glared at the earth ninja, but Zane nodded. "He raises a valid point." _Well, that doesn't mean I have to like it!_ The pair headed back into the forest, so he was obliged to follow.

That didn't mean it was easy. Jay paused to figure out a way to pass between trees. He hugged his wings against his sides and squeezed through the gap, only to be met by another obstacle. _Oh, come on!_

"Cole?" Zane called. "Are you able to clear a path? Jay is experiencing troubles with his enlarged size."

_Hey, it's not my fault the trees and brambles are thicker now!_ Jay sat back on his haunches, scowling.

The earth ninja sighed. "Wait here. I'll call you when I've made a way." He disappeared into the woods. Jay listened as his grumbling faded away.

"I had this idea while watching you." Jay swung around to look at Zane. Huh? "You are at the level of a fledgling, correct?"

Jay didn't know what that was, but he had a pretty good guess. He nodded.

"Well, most birds begin to practice flight by gliding from branch to branch, high places to lower places. Obviously, you cannot fit on a branch." Jay gave him a dry look. "But the principle still applies. You're trying to lift yourself on your own strength. If we find you a place to glide off, you'll have the wind on your side."

_Duh!_ Jay stopped himself from slapping his face with a wing. _Hey, I am getting better with these things! Ugh, focus Jay. But of course! How could I forget those hours I put into researching my gliders?_

BUT WHATS HIGH ENOUGH

Zane turned, and Jay followed his gaze. The spire of the temple rose above the treetops. 

* * *

_Great going, Cole. Now everyone knows just how afraid you are!_

Cole grunted, using his scythe to whack away brambles.

_You're the leader, remember? You've gotta set the example! And what you just did back there! That was not an example! Leaders don't got any fears!_

The gunning of engines. Cole paused. _Where am I? I must have come closer to the road than expected._ The sounds drew nearer. He pushed his thoughts aside and stepped into the shadows. There would be more time later for self-depreciating. Now, he had to focus apron the here-and-now. Who would be out here, in the middle of nowhere, at this time of night?

He soon got his answer. A turbo shredder zipped by, meters away from Cole's hiding place. He couldn't get a good look at the drivers, but the make of the vehicle left no doubt as to what they were. _Skeletons! Back again!_

"Go faster! We need to tell Samukai about the dragons, and we can't do that if you're putzing around!"

Cole froze. _Dragons? Like, more than one? More than, well, Jay?_ His gaze flitted back to the forest. _Any number of things could be lurking in there!_ He gulped. _I've gotta hear more._

Cole scaled a tree, following the pair from the branches. He tried to stay close, but only snips of the skeleton's talk reached his ears.

"Red... Temple... Roars... Forest..."

_Ugh, I can't hear them!_ Cole jumped ahead, preparing to ambush the pair. He dropped down from the tree and landed on a skeleton's skull.

"Hey! Watch it!"

"There's a ninja on your head!"

"Ninja go!"

Cole twisted into his signature spinjitzu, knocking one skeleton out of the vehicle. _Let's keep this one alive for interrogation._ But as he tried to stop, his spinjitzu only grew bigger. _What's going on?_ The shredder buckled and groaned beneath his feet. Cole got a sinking feeling in his chest. _Did Jay ever tell us just how he changed?_ His spinjitzu faded away, and he fell forward.

_This can't be happening._

_Oh my gosh this can't be real._

Cole could only stare at his paws. Then a bright light blinded him, and he remembered where he was standing. The vehicle roared through the portal, and it snapped shut behind him.

He was going to the underworld.


	4. Take a breath of myth and mystery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MemeCola reminded me that I haven't put a link for the ff.net story on here, so sorry about that! Here you go: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10733081/1/Skyward

'We've waited for Cole long enough. I say we go on ourselves.'

Of course, Zane couldn't actually understand the dragon, but he had a feeling his interpretations were accurate. Again he studied the dragon's posture, trying to decipher the various tells of his body language.

"You believe we should move on?" He was rewarded with a fervent nod. The dragon's wings were twitching. _Hmm, impatience?_ He added it to his ever-growing list.

The sky was lightening through the trees, streaks of pale orange coloring the deep blue. The soft twittering of birds merely accented the hushed spell cast over the forest.

So the bellow that shattered the stillness was jarring. Zane whipped around, heartbeat fluttering erratically. Movement caught his eye. He perceived a flash, and then the forest fell dark and silent once more. _We must have been closer to the road than I thought_ , he absently noted. A tap on his shoulder sent his pulse spiking again.

"Jay?" The lightning dragon looked repentant, his wings drooping. "Sorry, you startled me, that's all."

He nodded, wings lifting again as he clawed away fallen needles.

THAT WAS COLE ID RECOGNIZE HIS SCREAM ANYWHERE

"Are you sure?"

The dragon gave him a look, but it was enough to assure Zane. Jay tended to babble when he was doubtful or lying. But that led to another question. Why would Cole turn into a dragon? While he thought, he started towards the road.

The sight that greeted his eyes was one he'd seen before, right before the skeletons vanished to the Underworld. A wrecked vehicle, deep tread marks imprinted into the damp earth. Only this time, there were no tracks leading away from the crash site. He frowned.

"Jay, how did you transform?"

The dragon went to write, but he froze in his movements.

I SPINJITZUED

The pieces clicked together. Zane pursed his lips, feeling a headache coming on.

"And you didn't think to alert me or Cole of that fact?"

I WAS EXCITED OKAY

There was no use in dwelling on the past. Zane focused himself on what was ahead: namely, the temple. "What's done is done. We need to continue to the Fire Temple. Cole will know where to find us."

The temple was a black mass against the morning sky. Low growls echoed from the volcano. As Zane drew near, he picked up the sounds of scratching as well. He turned to Jay.

"I sense that another member of our party might be in your situation."

Jay nodded. He tilted his head back and screeched. His call sounded more like a bird's than anything else, and Zane didn't understand why Cole had been afraid of it. Then again, he didn't understand much about other humans in general.

Thus, why he'd taken to studying body language.

The scratching stopped. There was another call from inside -this one slightly deeper and more throatier- and Jay's ears perked.

ITS KAI

That much was obvious, but Zane decided not to say anything. "How do we reach him?" he asked instead.

Jay and Kai exchanged several more remarks.

HE SAYS THE DOOR IS BLOCKED AND THE ONLY OTHER WAY OUT IS TO FALL DOWN A LAVAFALL

They needed a way in, not a way out. Zane frowned. _How does one enter a volcano?_

"Jay? Would you ask him if he is able to see any gaps that might lead into a tunnel?"

Evidently, Kai could hear him. The fire ninja's reply came before Jay could ask.

HE CAN

Zane studied the volcano. He had an idea, but he would need to make some adjustments before it would work.

* * *

"So you're saying that you've been training as a secret ninja warrior for the past few months, learning an ancient martial art that just so happens to have the side effect of turning you into a dragon?"

_Well when you put it that way…_ Kai snorted, but nodded his head regardless. He perched beside the magma pools, surrounded by the kanji scratches littering the floor and walls. It had taken some thinking to get his sister to trust him, but after he thought to write out his words communication was much simpler.

YEAH BASICALLY

Nya sighed. "Honestly, Kai."

I DIDNT MEAN FOR THE DRAGON PART TO HAPPEN

"You never mean for things to happen!"

THATS TRUE

Nya said something else, but her words were drowned out by the cry from outside. Kai whipped his head around, automatically twisting it to triangulate the sounds. _Was that… Jay?_

"Kai? Are you in there?"

_It was!_ Kai scrambled to his feet. He bolted towards the temple entrance, skidding to a stop just short of crashing into the rocks.

"Jay! I'm here!"

"Kai? Where are you going? What's that?"

Kai didn't have the time to stop and scratch out a reply. Jay was speaking again, and it took all his concentration to make out the words.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm a dragon! And you're a dragon too! I finally have someone else who can actually understand me! Wait, how do I get in? I might be too big for the door!"

"Doesn't matter anyways, the door is blocked." Kai groaned, slouching against the wall.

"Is there any other way in?"

"Well, Sensei said there were other ways. That was right before he tumbled over the edge of a river of lava."

"What? Sensei fell into lava? Is he dead? Ohmygosh, he's dead!"

"He's not dead!" Kai said, before Jay could work himself up into even more of a frenzy. "He knew what he was doing. He was on a rock."

"A rock. That's not the most reassuring, Kai!"

"Well sorry!"

There was a pause, and Kai became aware of a second voice from outside.

"Jay? Would you ask him if he is able to see any gaps that might lead into a tunnel?"

Kai glanded around the cavern. Indeed, there were many cracks and dips in the volcano's walls. Some of them looked deep enough to lead outside.

"I can!"

Things feel silent then. Kai turned back to Nya, who watched him with a befuddled expression.

ITS MY TEAMMATES

A look of understanding passed over her face. "They're dragons too?"

I GUESS

Scraping noises came from the walls, followed by the sounds of tapping claws and hissed groans. Then two creatures tumbled into the cavern. They were dusted with a fine red powder. The blue one shook the color off himself and Kai took the opportunity to study his teammates.

The blue one was bigger than him, but that wasn't saying much. Jay only stood a head or two higher than Nya, and Kai himself was nearly on eye level with her. The white one- Zane- was even smaller than Kai, about half a head shorter. Someone was conspicuously absent, however.

"Where's Cole?"

"He, uh, hewenttotheunderworld."

"What Jay means to say is that Cole was unaware that spinjitzuing led to transformation. He attacked skeleton warriors and vanished to the Underworld."

A sickening sense of dread settled in Kai's stomach. _First Sensei Wu, and now Cole?_ "We have to go and rescue them!"

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that? Last I checked, we couldn't even fly-"

"I can, sorta."

"What?"

Kai shrugged. "I can glide across the pools, at least." He took a step back, pushed off, and waited for the thermal updrafts to carry him across the chamber. "Once I'm actually in the air, it's like my body instinctively knows what to do."

"Woah, that's so cool! I wanna try."

Jay's takeoff was shaky, but as soon as he caught the updrafts it was like he was a whole new dragon. He was great all the way up until the landing when he crashed into the wall.

There was a tap at Kai's shoulder. He tuned out Jay's happy chatter and focused on his sister.

"What's the matter?" Nya asked.

Kai had to hand it to her. He couldn't think of anyone else who could be so calm when surrounded by dragons, even if said dragons were your brother and his friends.

WE NEED TO GET TO UNDERWORLD TO SAVE FRIENDS

"Woah, that's your sister?" Jay had come back around the magma pools.

Kai snarled. "Jay!" He whacked him with his tail.

"Aren't dragons able to pass between realms?" Nya said, studiously ignoring the chaos around her.

"She's right," Zane said. "In the legends, dragons were not of one world and therefore could dwell in both of them."

It felt like the temperatures had plummeted. Kai knew the legends, of course. Dragons were hunted for their magical powers and the honor and riches beyond imagining that came with felling one.

Kai had grown up on these stories, often cheering on the valiant warrior who slayed the beast. Not he felt sick. Were those dragons people once, too? Was his destiny like theirs, to die at the hands of an unrespectful hunter?

Nya brought him out of his daze. "Kai? Kai! Are you okay?"

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe! He opened his mouth and coughed, each breath warming his throat. Then it was like his body was back to normal, the ache in his chest gone.

IM OKAY

Nya gave him a look.

IM FINE NOW

Honestly, he was! Kai turned to the other two dragons, ignoring their concern. "I think the smoke's affecting my lungs," he said.

Zane didn't press, but Kai thought that he didn't believe him. The white dragon exhaled.

"If speed is the key to entering the Underworld, then we will need to fly."


End file.
